Strategic Planning

Steve Lane

Steve Lane, President, Vertical Leap Consulting, LLC

Steve is the President of Vertical Leap Consulting, LLC having founded the firm in 2002. Previously, Steve spent 25 years on executive teams in publicly and privately held corporations and not-for-profit organizations. As an operations and organizational strategy executive, Steve worked in diverse industries including: printing, electric utilities, healthcare systems, mortgage banking, and a mobile communications trade association.

A common thread throughout Steve's career has been his impact on organizations entering periods of strategic transition (deregulation, rapid growth through acquisition, restructuring, IPO, technology disruption, and competitive re-positioning).

Described by various business leaders as a high-level strategic thinker and a trusted advisor, Steve's extensive experience in leading change initiatives, provides a blend of leading-edge theory and practical applications. Steve excels in helping associations assess their market penetration and competitive positioning; developing strategies aligned with members’ business and professional objectives, and creating organizational and stakeholder alignment with the association’s vision and strategies.

Steve is an established thought leader, speaker and collaborator in the Association community, and hosts three executive forums that each meet three times annually. In addition to several published white papers, he is a co-author of the groundbreaking 2014 e-book “Accelerating Strategic Member Engagement” which, based upon client experiences, executive interviews and a survey of over 100 association executives, demonstrates the linkage between engagement strategies and the corresponding impact on the association’s success and business model. In 2016, Steve conducted an impact survey, interviews and two discussion forums for the Council of Manufacturing Associations of the National Association of Manufacturers about how manufacturing associations are addressing the challenges facing their members.